The
Statesman, Delhi
December 21, 1991
Weaving
woes into child's life
Delhi:
Sharp
eyes and nimble fingers - from which the carpet industry has
so far benefited immensely - have eventually cast their shadow
on the trade. Exports of carpet have declined and the West
has become aware that children weave carpets at home which are
sold in the international market. A boycott of sorts of
the Indian carpet has led the manufacturers to think about the
little weavers.
The
manufacturers from Bhadoi, Mirzapur and Varanasi in U.P. and
the Bandhua Mukti Morcha led by Swami Agnivesh announced on
Friday in New Delhi that a plan has been charted out by them
for the release of scores of children in the industry.The joint
meeting held in New Delhi was also attended by the voluntary
organizations engaged in the task of monitoring the young weavers
in the industry. The plan envisages release of about 2.5
lakhs children engaged in the carpet trade by the end of March,
1992.
Shades
of twilight that the carpet weaving brings to the life of children
could not be wished away as the All India Carpet Manufacturers
Association felt that "some unscrupulous loom owners have
been keeping the children engaged in the trade as bonded labourers".
Besides
U.P., these children come from Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The
trade has predominately been one with child labour. The belief
has been that softer the fingers that weave carpets, greater
the number of knots per square centimeter. On the strength of
knot densities, the Indian carpet has been winning a higher
price from firms marketing wall carpets abroad until the world
knew through the efforts of the voluntary organizations about
the plight of those who take to weaving early in life. The Indian
carpets were then shunned in the U.K. and the USA.
Alarmed
at the consciousness against child labour the manufacturers
decided to mend their ways. Now they refuse to employ the children.
Informed activists claim, given a chance even deft fingers can
get trained at carpet weaving. Cheap labour offered by children
is alleged to be the main cause for their extensive involvement
in the trade. Instead of child labour, grown-ups would be
taken for carpet manufacturing say the owners in the trade.
Child
labour has been mainly provided by contractors. The Bandhua
Mukti Morcha like other voluntary agencies has been raising
its voice against the practice for about eight years. However,
little could be achieved until introspection on the part of
the manufacturers after the exports registered a sharp decline.
At
the meeting, the manufacturers were represented by the president
of the All India Association, Mr. Raja Ram Gupta, besides his
other colleagues. Children are to be replaced by adult workers
over a period of time mainly to avoid dislocation of work.
But critics of child labour apprehend that the children may
join some other trade in the absence of adequate rehabilitation,
assistance and educational facility. What the children would
need is perhaps vocational training along with efforts to make
them literate.